When adjectives are placed before nouns, and not after, they add
the ending -e. The spelling rules that affect pluralization of
nouns and verb conjugations also apply when inflecting adjectives.
However, the -e is not added when the adjective occurs before a neuter singular
noun without an article (warm water) or a neuter singular noun preceded by
een, geen, elk (each), ieder (each), menig (many a), veel (much), welk (which)
or zo'n (such a). Adjectives that end in -en, as well as the
adjectives linker (left) and rechter (right), do not add -e either.
het grote huis - the large house
de lange muur - the long wall
mijn mooie tuin - my beautiful garden
snelle treinen - fast trains
een oud huis - an old
house
vers brood - fresh bread
de houten trap - the wooden staircase
zijn rechter oog - his right eye
When an adjective is
placed directly after iets (something), niet (nothing), veel (much), weinig
(little), and wat (something), it adds the ending -s.
iets moois - something beautiful
niets nieuws - nothing new
If the noun following the
adjective has been mentioned before, it may be omitted. In English, "one"
is used in its place, but there is no equivalent word in Dutch. Dutch
simply uses the article and adjective, with the -e inflection, if it is
required.
Koop je een jurk? Ja, ik neem de blauwe.
Are you buying a dress? Yes, I'll take the blue (one.)
This article was used with permission from:
Indo-European Languages